Richard III’s final resting place in a council car park was as bereft of the grandeur fit for a king as his two-year reign was blood-stained and brutal.

Richard III’s final resting place in a council car park was as bereft of the grandeur fit for a king as his two-year reign was blood-stained and brutal. Here Darren Devine searches out the other nondescript locations history's giants have been left to rest.

Owain Glyndwr:

The final resting place of the man regarded by many as Wales’ greatest ever hero has been the source of much research and speculation.

Among the suggested locations for the man crowned Prince of Wales in Machynlleth, Powys, is an overgrown mound close to Mornington Straddle, in Herefordshire.

One of Glyndwr’s daughters, Alice, lived at Mornington Straddle, and reports suggest his descendants believe this was his final resting place.

But in 2004 Alex Gibbon’s book The Mystery of Jack Kent and the Fate of Owain Glyndwr suggested he was buried in St Cwrdaf Church, in Llanwrda, in Carmarthenshire.

Mr Gibbon claimed Glyndwr’s body was moved from Herefordshire, where he died, to the Welsh village.

Glyndwr rose to power in 1400 snatching, by force, the castles of Wales built by the country’s English rulers.

Llywelyn the Great:

Remaining powerful until his death in 1240 Llywelyn ap Iorwerth’s remains were originally buried in the Cistercian monastery of Aberconwy, in North Wales.

However when the monastery was demolished to make way for Conwy town and castle his remains were removed to Llanrwst Parish church, where they remain today.

As ruler of Gwynedd Llywelyn married Joan, the daughter of King John in 1205, and went on to dominate Wales for more than 40 years.

He was one of only two Welsh rulers to be known as "The Great" – the other being his ancestor Rhodri Mawr.

Llywelyn ap Gruffydd:

Regarded as one of the last leaders of a unified Wales, tradition suggests his remains lie under the ruins of Abbey Cwm Hir monastery, near Llandrindod Wells, in Powys.

When his grandfather Llywelyn the Great died in 1240, Wales disintegrated as a united nation and fell under English control.

In 1255, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was declared ruler of Gwynedd and three years later the Assembly of Welsh magnates pledged allegiance to him as Prince of Wales.

His rule came to an end when he found himself in conflict with Edward I and he was forced to concede all the territory he had gained, bar Gwynedd.

A chance meeting with an English lancer on December 11 1282 ended his life and his head was paraded through London at Edward’s behest.

Oliver Cromwell:

The head of the man who helped overthrow the monarchy is buried beneath an ante-chapel at Cambridge University’s Sidney Sussex College, while his body was thrown into a pit near what is now Marble Arch, in London.

Cromwell had studied at the University before he and his New Model Army helped to see off Charles I when civil war broke out between the monarch and parliament in 1642.

After his death and the restoration of the monarchy his body was dug up from its burial place in Westminster Abbey and ritualistically hung at Tyburn, (near Marble Arch).

His head was hacked off and displayed on a pole outside Westminster Hall until 1685.

The head changed hands several times before ending up at Sussex College.

Edward the Martyr:

For decades the remains of the 10th century king of England were kept in a bank vault in Woking, Surrey, amidst a dispute about where they should be laid to rest.

The dispute arose when Edward’s remains were found during an archaeological dig by John Wilson-Claridge in 1931.

He wanted the remains sent to the Russian Orthodox Church, which regards Edward as a saint.

However Wilson-Claridge’s brother wanted them sent to Shaftesbury Avenue – where Edward had been buried following his murder in 980.

Eventually the Russian Orthodox Church was victorious and placed the relics in a church in Brookwood Cemetery in Woking in 1984.

Edward V:

The young king and his brother Richard are said to have been buried under stairs at the Tower of London after it is believed their uncle Richard III had them murdered.

They were placed in the Tower by Richard ostensibly to await Edward’s coronation.

Richard is said to have employed Sir James Tyrell to ensure the princes were murdered.

However some historians dispute this, believing Richard’s successor, the Welsh king Henry VII, might have been responsible for their murder as they represented an obstacle to his claim on the throne.

Reports suggest the remains of two children were discovered in an elm chest around 10ft deep by workmen demolishing a staircase in the tower about a century after their deaths.

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